Apple won’t be forced into enabling sideloading in Brazil, per a new court ruling.
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A Federal Civil Court judge ruled that Apple will not be required to enable sideloading in Brazil, meaning that the iPhone maker can continue to distribute apps exclusively via the App Store.
The decision comes a week after Apple was previously ordered to allow third-party app marketplaces in Brazil. The company was initially supposed to bring this functionality to end-users within 90 days of the ruling, or else it would face daily fines of more than $40,000.
Apple fought the original ruling of the Brazilian federal court, saying that the proposed changes would outright harm the privacy and security of iPhone and iPad users. Now, a different judge has allowed the company to continue with its existing app distribution system, which effectively forces app developers to go through the iOS App Store, until a final determination is made.
The decision itself was published on March 18, as was spotted by 9to5mac and originally revealed by Brazilian publication Estadao. In the published document, which is in Portuguese, the judge described the initial ruling as “disproportionate,” saying that Apple would effectively be subject to serious measures even before the case had reached its conclusion.
The initial antitrust complaint was filed against Apple in 2022 by Brazilian regulator Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Economica, or CADE. After an investigation and a bad ruling for Apple, an unreasonable implementation timeline was proposed and quickly overturned. After that, in February 2025, the regulator held a public hearing on the issue.
Similarly, the European Union has already forced Apple to comply with its Digital Markets Act in 2024. With the introduction of iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 18, Apple enabled sideloading for iPhone and iPad users within the EU. The same likely would have happened in Brazil were it not for the decision published on Tuesday.
Brazilian regulator CADE has the option to appeal the March 18 ruling, so there is still a chance Apple could be forced into compliance in one way or another. The entire process could ultimately continue for months, and the outcome remains to be seen.
